Abstract Fish was inspired by the Korean dried fish Goolbee, not as a literal form, but as a symbolic departure point. Traditionally associated with nourishment and preservation, Goolbee here serves as a metaphor for resisting the internalized weight of tradition, social expectations, and cultural stereotypes. The painted fish does not resemble its real-world counterpart—instead, it takes on an entirely new and ambiguous form, breaking away from familiarity and representation.

This transformation reflects a deeper concern with selfhood: the work explores how one becomes something else—something not predetermined—in the face of fixed cultural images. The repetition of this abstract form across the series is not about uniformity, but persistence—each variation a subtle act of defiance, a refusal to conform, and a quiet assertion of an identity in flux. Through abstraction, the fish becomes a space for exploring psychological resistance and the desire to exist beyond the visible scripts of identity.